ASL - January, February

Let's learn about the months of the year in ASL!

There are no special signs for the months of the year in ASL.

To say a month, you just have to spell out the first three letters of the month.

January - J-A-N



February - F-E-B



wiktionary - appendix:sign language handshapes


Here is a helpful video to show how these signs are done.


ASL HANGOUT: HOW TO SIGN MONTHS OF THE YEAR! - Sign Duo



(from: wikipedia - american sign language)

Italian: Gennaio, Febbraio

German: Januar, Februar

Spanish: Enero, Febrero

French: Janvier, Février

Hole Saw

We just learned about the Twist Drill Bits.

Another type of drill bit is the Hole Saw.
Sometimes you need to drill a really big hole out of a piece of wood or metal, and this type of bit can grab on to the metal with the smaller bit in the middle called the "pilot drill bit".
Then the teeth on the larger bit can cut the hole for the right shape.


(from: wikipedia - hole saw)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metalwork

Pouched Frog

We just learned about the Gray Tree Frog.

Another type of frog is the Pouched Frog.

This is a small red-brown frog with stripes that lives in Australia.

When the frog's eggs hatch, they stay in a small pocket on the hip of the male frog until they get bigger and turn into tiny frogs.

(from: wikipedia - pouched frog)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: False Coral Snake

Hair - Root Sheath

We just learned about the Hair - Plexus.

Another part of the hair is the Root Sheath.

Just like the skin has layers, the hair also has layers.
A sheath is like a wrapper, and the hair has a soft inner sheath and a harder outer sheath.


(from: wikipedia - rooth sheath)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Epithalamus

Canadian Provinces

We've learned about the mountains of North America.

Let's move on and talk a little about the Provinces and Territories in the country of Canada.

Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories.

The ten provinces are: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

The three territories are: Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon

There is not much of a difference between provinces and territories, mostly just in how things work in the government.


(from: wikipedia - provinces and territories of canada)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Kangchenjunga

Psalm 103 - Bless the Lord, O my soul

We just learned about Psalm 51 - Miserere.

Another famous chapter in the book of Psalms is Psalm 103.

This song starts with the words:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!.

It goes on to say how great the Lord is, and sings praises on his blessings.
This song has been used many times for songs and even musicals.


(from: wikipedia - psalm 103)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ordinary Time

Tomb of Pope Julius II - Michelangelo

We just learned about the Pietà by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Another Renaissance Art sculpture is the Tomb of Pope Julius II by Michelangelo.

Michelangelo had great plans to build a gigantic three story wall with 40 statues in it, but sadly he was told to make it a lot smaller and only put in a few statues.

The most famous of his statues in this tomb is a large almost 8 foot tall Moses sitting and holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments in his one hand.
In this sculpture Moses has horns on his head, because when Moses came down from the mountain after seeing God, his face was enlightened, and some people thought that meant he had horns on his head like rays of light pointing to heaven.
Michelangelo was so proud of his sculpture of Moses that when he was done he hit it on the knee and shouted "NOW SPEAK" because it looked so lifelike almost like it was real.

There are also statues of the sisters Rachel and Leah next to Moses.

The other sculptures above Moses were made by another sculptor.



(from: wikipedia - tomb of pope julius ii)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sphinx of Naxos